Winkfield Stakes long-delayed return spot for King Kranz

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The connections of King Kranz were prepared to run him back just one week after he finished last in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Jan. 30 at Aqueduct. As it turns out, King Kranz will have had five weeks between starts when he runs in Sunday’s $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.

A field of seven was entered for the Winkfield, which will go as race 5 on Sunday’s nine-race program at Aqueduct.

King Kranz won the Lost in the Fog Stakes over Aqueduct’s inner track on New Year’s Day. His connections gave him the opportunity to stretch out around two turns in the Withers, but King Kranz was never in the hunt and finished last of six, 15 lengths behind the winner, Sunny Ridge.

When it became obvious that King Kranz was not going to finish in the money in the Withers, Cornelio Velasquez wrapped up on the horse. Thus, trainer John Terranova felt comfortable entering him back a week later in the $100,000 Fred “Cappy” Capossela Stakes on Feb. 6. The race did not draw enough entries to be carded and was postponed to the following weekend. The race did draw enough entries for Feb. 14, but that card got canceled due to extreme cold. In the end, the race was not brought back at all.

Basically, the same horses who would have run in the Capossela are back in the Winkfield, including Condo King, who beat King Kranz in a maiden race last December, and Zen Papa, who finished fourth in the Lost in the Fog.

Trainer Todd Pletcher entered a pair of New York-breds, Awesome Gent and Sudden Surprise. Quijote, trained by Tom Amoss for Midwest Thoroughbreds, has shipped in from Fair Grounds for his stakes debut. Moon Over a Beauty rounds out the field.